Family is Forever
by RedRosePress
Summary: Derek Shepherd loves all his sisters, but he holds a special place in his heart for the youngest Shepherd even when she doesn't realize it.
1. Prologue

Prologue

February 14, 1997. 9:37pm.

"I'm sorry I'm late. You can't believe the kind of day I had." Derek Shepard walked through the front door of his home and seeing his wife sitting on the sofa with an empty wine glass in her hand. By the sign of the half empty bottle on the counter he had a feeling that he was in trouble for being late on Valentines Day, but he didn't care. He had to tell her about his day. "Right when I was ready to come home, they pulled into a emergency surgery on a twelve year old." He pulled his jack it off. "It was incredible, you should have seen it. I was…"

"Derek." Addison cut him off with a quiet tone and stood up.

"What? What is it?" Derek asked after not sure if she had a pissed off look or concerned look on her face. Both of them were very similar.

"Your mother called. It's about your sister" Addison winced as she walked over to the answering machine.

"Great. What did she do this time?" Derek sighed as he threw his coat on the sofa and leaned on the back of it. Addison pushed play on the machine and walked to the wine bottle to fill her glass.

 _Beep. Next Message. 4:23pm_

 _"Derek, it's you mother. I need to talk to you. Call me as soon as possible."_

 _Beep. Next Message. 4:57pm_

 _"Derek, I really need you call me back."_

 _Beep. Next Message. 5:15pm_

 _"Derek, She is getting out of control. Please call."_

 _Beep. Next Message. 6:05pm_

 _"Derek, This is your mother calling. You better be dead in a ditch for not calling me back. It's about your sister."_ The young man could hear his mother sob through her words. _"She dropped out of school, Derek. When I tried talking to her about it she just ran off. I don't know where she is. Please go and find her. And when you do, talk some sense into her."_ Derek's hands ran through hair before he let out a frustrated huff and grabbed his jacket from the sofa.

 _Beep. Next Message. 7:30pm_

 _"Derek, I'm scared. I think we lost her."_

 _Beep. End of Messages._

"What are you going to do?" Addison asked her aggravated husband.

"I'm going to find her and drag her back home." He pulled his coat on.

"Do you even know where she?" His wife asked

"I have a idea." The doctor sighed.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. Just call my mom. Tell her that Natalie will be home soon." Derek said as he stormed on out of the house.

Coney Island, the place that he and his other sisters would take their baby sister for her birthday until she was too embarrassed to go with her siblings. Then it became the place she would run away to when she was having a bad day. He knew that he could find her there.

The traffic was horrible for being ten o'clock at night but after about forty minutes he finally made it to Coney Island. He step out of his car, there was a chill in the air. He went into the trunk of the car and pulled out the emergency blanket. Derek walked down the boardwalk searching for his sister but there was no sigh. The place was deserted. No one in their right mind would come at night in the middle of February. He was getting worried when he spotted a dark shadow in the sand. He started to jog towards and as he drew closer her recognized the shadow to be the youngest in their family.

"Natalie, what the hell do you think you're doing? It's freezing out here." He shouted when he saw his kid sister sitting close to the water with just a hoodie on. A duffle bag sat right beside her. The girl didn't flinch a muscle as he approached her.

"Leave me alone, Derek." Natalie snapped before she even saw his face. Derek walked around and noticed that she was shivering. He unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She shrugged of the blanket.

"Natalie, it's cold out her and I do want you to become hypothermic." He said as he placed the blanket back on her shoulders and sat down beside her. The brother waited hoping that she would say something, anything. "What going on? Mom said you're dropping out of school? What happened?"

"I just can't do it anymore. I tired but the more I try the more I don't get what I'm doing and I just fail. I don't know if they have higher expectations from me because I come from a family of geniuses all going into the medical field. Apparently, I didn't get the memo. I just don't get it." Tears came streaming down her face. "And mom…I can't stand the look she gives me every time I fail. Always comparing me to her other children. I don't think can even graduate high school." More tears streamed down her face, teethe chattered as she spoke.

"How come this is the first I'm hearing about this, why didn't you talk to me about this sooner." The concerned brother asked.

"You have been busy, with your wife and your residency. Then there was the thing with Amelia. I didn't want to be a bother. " She wiped away a tear with the palm of her hand. "I just can't wait for all this to be over I can't stand it. I can't stand being alone in the house with her. "

"Hey," he wrapped his arms around her shoulder "you will never be a bother. You hear me. You can come to me for anything. I'll help in any way you can and you will graduate. Alright?" She didn't respond. " Alright?" He insisted.

"Alright." She said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I have a feeling this is not just about school. What else is going on?" Derek asked. Natalie sat in silence staring into the black vast of the ocean in front of them for a few minutes before she spoke.

"I was going to see how far I could out into the ocean." She said bluntly. "I only made it to my knees before I felt how cold the water was.

"You what?" Derek gasped at his sister's comment and glanced down at her legs and saw that her pants from her knees down were soaked. He pulled up the pant leg and felt her icy cold skin. He took the blanket of her shoulders and covered her legs and then took his own jacket and put on her.

"It's funny, I even failed at taking he plunge." She ignored her brother completely. "I'm must be such s disappointment for him. Good thing he will never know."

"Natalie, what are you talking about?" Derek insisted, his hand cupped her face and he moved it so she was looking at him.

"I was invited to Sarah's sisters wedding last weekend. I thought it would be fun. And it was fun. Getting dressed up and dolled up. I was excited to dance with Jeremy. " Natalie pause for a moment. "Then the bride came up the aisle with her father beside her." Fresh tear fell down her face. "She was beautiful and he looked so proud of her. That's when I realized that I my father would never walk me down the aisle on my wedding day. Because I wasn't even born when he was killed. He didn't even know I existed before he died. How screwed up is that. I never had the chance to meet my own father. And I can't even talk to her about it because she is just reminded of the horrible event that cost her a husband and left alone to raise six children. She just hides away from me. It's not fair, Derek. It's just not fair. I want him to be here to walk me down aisle. It's not fair." The young girl finally finished her rant as she started to hyperventilate.

"Hey. It's okay. Take a breath." He held her close like he always did when she was just a child and would bonk her head. I know. None of it is fair. And there is not a day that I go with out thinking about that day. But then I remember that I have five amazing sister." Her breathing started to slow down, his hand made its way to her wrist so he could feel her pulse wondering how long she has been sitting in the cold. "And you, Natalie Shepherd, there is no way you're a failure, because you're a Shepherd. And dad would be nothing proud of you." He comforted his sister, noticing that her heart rate was higher then normal from being in the cold. "Now why don't we go home and warm you up."

"Okay." She spoke through her chattering teeth. "I'm so cold."

"Can you stand?" Derek asked as he stood up.

"I've ruined Valentine's day with Addison." She just remembered as she moved to stand up. Derek helped her to her feet, and then pulled the strap of the duffle bag over his shoulders.

"We didn't have plans. She had to work." He lied; they started walking through the sand towards the boardwalk. "Let's just get you home."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

New York City August 23, 2003 - 2:19am

Derek rolled over on the couch when he heard his cell ringing. He forgot that he was sleeping on the couch and almost fell off as he reached for his phone but caught himself on with his hands pressing against the coffee table to hold him up. He looked at his phone and failed to recognize the foreign number. He let it ring, knowing that it was most likely a wrong number and rolled over once more. Remembering once again why he was sleeping on the most uncomfortable couch in the world. His failing marriage. He got into another fight with Addison again and he thought he would be the high road and sleep on the couch. Even though she was the one that came home after twelve and he knew she wasn't at the hospital, but he just pushed down all his anger and slept on the couch. The phone rings again. He rolls over and looks at his phone once more. It was the same number. He flips open the phone and pressed talk.

"You have a collect call from: _your favourite sister._ Do you accept the charges?" The operator waited for his reply.

"Yes." Derek sighed as he sat up on the couch.

" _Derek, thank god you're up. I hope it's not to late_." His sister's voice on the other end of the line seemed so far away.

"It's two in the morning. Natalie, where the are you now?" He asked annoyed.

" _Opps sorry, I'm in Auckland…_ " She paused for a brief moment. Derek could just see Natalie guilty twisted face that always used whenever she needed something or knew he wouldn't like the answer. _"..,New Zealand_."

"New Zealand? I thought you were supposed to be in Thailand for another few months." He groaned as his hands rubbed his tried eyes.

" _Yeah, that was the plan, but then I met this guy and…oh my god, Derek. He is amazing. He asked me to go back to his home and well I did."_ Derek could hear the excitement in her voice. It is the same excitement that she has when she spontaneously makes a decision, follows through with it and always ends up disappointed or hurt, but there was nothing he could do sitting at home in New York while she is half way around the world. He has tried talking sense into her but it always ended up with her hang up on him and she did whatever she wanted anyway.

"Where did you meet him?" He reluctantly asked. "Some bar."

 _"No. I did not meet this one at a bar."_ She spoke with exasperation. " _He was one of my costumers at the resort. I was the one who strapped him in his harness for the Zip Line and I accidently touched his…"_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa now!" Derek stopped her before she could finish her sentences. "I don't need to know where you touched him."

" _Anyway, we had a good laugh about it and the next day he came back. But this time while I was strapping him in, he asked me to go for dinner and the rest is history_." He could hear the joy in her voice. " _I think he is the one."_

"Derek." The doctor turned to see his wife on the stairs. "Who are you talking to?"

"Natalie. Go back to bed." Derek instructed and turned away from her.

"Hang up right now." Addison demanded.

"She's my sister. Now back to bed." He growled.

" _Did I call at a bad time?"_ Her voice whispered as if her sister in law would hear her on the line.

"No. I'm happy for you Natalie, but is there a point to this call." Derek asked; he could still hear his wife breathing on the stairs.

 _"Yeah, There is."_ She paused for a moment. _"I need you to wire me twenty five hundred."_ She said still keeping her voice low. " _My work visa doesn't work here and I sent in my application but it can take up to six weeks."_

"Of course I can. I'll do it first thing in the morning." He agreed.

" _You are the best."_ Her excitement grew once more. " _I will pay you back as soon as I can. I promise_."

"I know you will." He said with a slight smile. "I have to go. Talk to soon."

" _Alright. Love you Bro."_ The woman said with a bright smile.

"Love you too." He replied before he hung up.

"Money." Addison voice rang through the living room. "That's what she asked for, didn't she?"

"Go back to bed, Addison." Derek was annoyed as he laid back down on the couch and covered himself with his blanket.

"Didn't she." Addison stomped down the stairs and turned on the light.

"Yeah, she did." Derek shot up from the couch to face his wife. "And will give her the money. She has always paid me back, hasn't she?"

"Yes." Addison's jaw was clenched. "But that's beside the point. Natalie does whatever she wants with no care in the world about the people in her life. She travels everywhere going on excursion after excursion."

"She is young and…" Derek tried to get a word in but failed.

"Taking no responsibility for her actions. We go for months without a word from her. She only calls when she needs you to bail her out of whatever trouble she is in. What is going to happen if you are not there to help her out the hole she has dug herself in." His wife finally stopped her rant.

"That's never going to happen, because she is my sister and I always be there to help her out." Derek defended himself. "She's my family and I would do the same thing to anyone of my sisters." Derek walked into the kitchen and turned the tap on then opening the cupboard to grab a glass and filled it up with water.

"What about me? What about when I need your help?" She asked as she followed him into the kitchen. Derek didn't reply. He just drank his water as he stared out the window. "She has perfect timing, your sister. Always calling when I need you and you always choose her." Addison was frustrated with her husband.

"Did you sleep with Mark?" Derek asked, his back still towards his wife.

"Don't change the subject." Addison was thrown off.

"Did you sleep with Mark?" Derek turned around. Addison looked at down at her feet as her husband walked towards her. "That's what I thought. Now go back to bed." Derek storm passed her and back to the couch. "Turn off the light on your way up." He pulled the covers over his shoulders as her heard the footsteps go up the stairs. The lights were left on.


	3. Chapter Two

Sorry for the delay everyone. Had some computer problems but it has all been fixed. It is a little shorter today. Enjoy.

xxxxxxxx

November 14, 2008

The ambulance pulled into the emergency bay; the paramedics jump out of the vehicle and open the back door, wheeling out the patient on the stretcher. The young man head was bandaged up with blood seeping through , a tube down his throat, and a brace around his neck.

"What do we have?" Dr. Owen Hunt, who was ready at the door with Dr. Meredith Grey standing beside him.

"Male thirty, MVA at high speed, found unresponsive at the scene, severe head injury, intubated in the field, neurologically a GCS 6T." The paramedic gave the update to the doctor as the wheeled the patient out of the ambulance. A woman, also with a neck brace and a blanket wrap around her shoulders, was the last out of the vehicle tried to keep up.

"Flynn! Flynn!" She called out, trying to keep up to the men rolling the injured man into the hospital. "Is he going to be okay?" The woman asked but was ignored.

"Pulse 50, BP 180/100." The first responder continued to give the doctor the specifics of the patient's condition.

"Get Neuro down here now?" Hunt ordered a nurse as they entered the building.

"Is he going to be okay?" The woman demanded trying to get the doctors attention.

"Who is this?" Hunt asked annoyed.

"She was in the car with him." The medic replied.

"Grey." Was the only thing he had to say for the resident to drop the task she was doing and attend to the woman, as he continued with the critical patient.

"They are calling neuro? Are they calling Derek? You need to get Derek. Please tell me they are getting Derek." She started talking really fast through her hyperventilating breaths.

"What is you name?" Meredith asked calmly as she examined the woman for any noticeable injuries. She noticed a small head lack above her right eyebrow.

"Natalie." The woman said quickly. "My name is Natalie. Tell me he is going to be okay?" The woman looked in the direction where they wheeled him away into a trauma room, a tear fell down her face.

"Natalie. Are you hurt anywhere?" Grey asked as she led the woman to an open bed, an closed one side of the curtains to give them some privacy.

"Derek is here today right? He said he would be here today." The woman was shaking as the doctor was assessing her head injury. "He needs to save Flynn."

"Do you know Dr. Shepherd?" Grey asked calmly, as she checked the woman's eyes, noting that her pupils were slightly dilated.

"He's my brother." The woman answered.

"Your brother?" The doctor was a little surprised by the answer. "I'm going to take the brace of an examine your neck."

"Yeah my big brother. Flynn and I just got off the plane to come see him." The patient reply as the doctor felt around her neck.

"You have experienced some whiplash." She placed the brace back on. "We'll just keep this on to protect you neck."

"You see. We just got married and I had to tell Derek in person." The woman continued her story.

"Now I'm just going to examined you by pressing my hand along your body to rule out other injuries. Let me know if you feel any discomfort." The female doctor began placing her hands along the woman's limbs.

"We were just on our way here when..." She paused, recalling what happened earlier that day. "I don't think the taxi driver made it. He would be…"Natalie winced when Meredith touch her left side. The doctor lifted up the woman shirt to see that her left side was almost all red and was started to discolour.

"Natalie, you have some bruised ribs. We will run some test to see the full extent of your injury." Meredith said as she put her shirt back down and began to write down some notes.

"Mere, I was called for an con…" Derek walked towards the resident but stopped when his sister came into view behind the curtain. "Natalie, what are you…" He was lost for word, seeing his sister sitting on the hospital bed with a brace around her neck.

"Derek, you have to save him." Natalie insisted as soon as she saw him.

Shepherd looked at Meredith for an explanation when she quickly directed him to the trauma room. "Your consult is in trauma room one. Go." He hesitated looking back at his sister. "I'll look after her, now go."

Meredith looked back at the woman in the hospital bed and saw that her attention was on the back of her brother as he rushed into the trauma room. The door opened and she could her the commotion that was happening inside the room. It faded once more when the door shut behind the neurosurgeon.

"Derek is there now. He is going to do everything he can to save Flynn." Meredith comforted the woman.

"I know he will." Natalie spoke with her eyes still on the room.


	4. Chapter Three

Natalie laid in the hospital bed hooked up to machines that monitored her vitals; waiting for her test results, but mostly just waiting to hear about her husband. She watched the hustle of the emergency wing. Paramedics strolled in a elderly woman, Natalie over heard someone say that she suffered a heart attach. There was a little girl sitting two beds over hugging a bedpan, throwing up periodically. It just added to the smell of everything else going on. Across the way, Natalie spot a man holding a bloody cloth to he face and he was talking to two police officers. The woman recognized the man as the semi driver that ran into the side of the taxi.

"He was the driver that hit us." Natalie informed Dr. Grey as she walked up to her bed. "The taxi driver is dead and my husband is in surgery, while he has a broken nose. It doesn't seem far."

"No, it doesn't" Meredith replied.

"He just stood there and watched as other came a pulled me out of the car." Natalie remembered. "They pulled me out first because it was the easiest. This guy, he…he just went into the crushed car. I watched as he checked Flynn's pulse, and then searched for the best way to get Flynn out. There wasn't a way, so he stayed with him till help came." The patient glared at the man with the broken nose. "This guy just stands there, completely helpless. "

"He was probably in shock and processing what just happen. He is going to carry this guilt for the rest of his life. " Dr. Grey commented, trying her best to give some insight.

"Yeah, I know." Natalie turned to face the doctor. "Any news about Flynn?" Natalie asked.

"He's still in Surgery." The doctor responded, then paused for a moment. " But I did get back your test results. It seems it just going to be some bruising. You'll be a sore for a while but with time it will go away. You are very lucky."

"I don't fell lucky." The patient replied. Natalie didn't care about herself; her mind was only on him. The more she thought about her husband the more she feared that she would never be able to hold him in her arms again

Meredith saw that she had something else on her mind. "Tell me about Flynn." The doctor pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed. "Where did you meet him?"

"Thailand." A smile appeared on her face. " I was working at The Flight of Gibson Zipline Adventures and he was a costumer." Natalie paused for a moment, her lips curved as if she was keeping a secret. "He was such a idiot. I fell in love instantly." She continued. "Looking back at it, I wasn't thinking when I drop everything to go back home with him, I was blinded by love. And it was the best decision I have ever made. It has been the most amazing five years of my life." Meredith smiled at her boyfriends little sister. "Did you feel like you are so terrified to do something, but when you are around someone you love nothing seems scary? And you are able to anything your mind too?"

Meredith nodded her head. "Yea, I know exactly what you are talking about." She was thinking about Derek and all the complications that they have overcame.

"That how he makes me feel, everyday. I wake up every morning knowing I'm going to conquer the world." She paused. "And ever since, I saw him laying on the gurney all I can thing about is how terrified I am of losing all of that if he dies." Tears started form in her eyes. "So tell me, Dr. Grey and be honest with me." She wiped away her tears. "What are his chances of recovering?"

" In all honesty Natalie, I really don't know. All I do know is that Derek is the finest Neurosurgeon that we have and he will do his best work to save Flynn." Meredith reached over to hold her hand.

"Can you go check on him? Please?" Natalie pleaded.

"Of course I will." Dr. Grey stood up. "Is their anything I can for you before I go?" The patient shook her head. "Then get some rest. You need it."

Meredith made her way to the gallery of the Operating Room were Derek was working on Flynn. She stopped in the doorway when she saw Derek sitting on the floor with his heads in his hands. The nurses were cleaning up what appeared to be a knocked over tray. She knew that out of frustration that Derek through it across the floor. In the middle of the room, Flynn laid on the operating table with a machines still hooked up to him. Dr. Grey quickly raced down to the OR to see what happened.

Meredith looked at the screen of beside the patient and saw that the vitals were still stable. "Derek." She said just above a whisper as she made her way to him and sat down beside him.

"Is Natalie, okay?" is the first words out of his mouth.

"Physically, she's going to be fine. Just a little bruised up." Meredith revealed as she reached for his hand. "She's resting now."

"Who is he?" Derek asked looking up at her.

"Flynn." She replied.

"I know. Who was he to her?" He demanded.

Meredith pause before answering, know that he wouldn't like what her head. "He's her Husband."

"God dammit." Shepard huffed under his breath.

"You need to go to her. You need to tell her." Meredith squeezed his hand in support.

"I know, I just don't know how." Derek sighed.

 ***Sorry for the cliff hanger. Next Chapter will be longer. Please let me know what you think so far.***


	5. Chapter Four

"You can do this." Meredith encourage as she held his hands. "Go be there for her." They two made their way through the hospital and stop when Natalie was in eyesight. Her eyes were closed, but only for a moment. She looked up and saw her brother. She sat up quickly in her bed and waited for Derek to make his way to her. Meredith let go of his hand and he slowly walked over to his baby sister. Dr. Shepard pulled the chair closer to his sister and took her hand in his own.

"He's dead. Isn't he?" Natalie blurted out when Derek failed to say anything.

"Flynn is alive." He spoke just above a whisper.

"He is?" Her hand covered her smile as she let out a snort. "He's alive." Her smiled fade when she noticed her brother still face. "What is it?"

"In surgery, we found and repaired and subdural hematoma. However, the excess fluid lead to hydrocephalus and…"Derek was cut off.

"In English, Derek." She demanded.

"A vessel in his brain was torn which cause a great amount of blood loss in his brain and we were able to repair the tear but there is some swelling in his brain." He had a hard time to look her in the eyes. "The swelling is causing the brain to push down on the brain stem, damaging the part of the brain that is responsible for simulation."

"What does that mean?" She said fighting back tears.

"It means that he is alive, but we don't know when he will wake up." Derek watched as his sister processed the information that was given to her. Her free hand cupped her mouth looking away from her brother and while attempting to contain her tears.

"Can I see him?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Of course you can." Derek said standing up. " I'll take you up to him. Do you want me to get you a wheelchair?" He removed the unnecessary tubes.

"No." She said as he legs slid of the bed. Derek offered his hand to help her and she took it. The brother held her hand as he led to the nearest elevator that would take them up to the Intensive Care Unit.

Natalie squeezed her brother hand when she saw the lifeless body. His head was wrapped in fresh bandages and a tube was down his throat to help him breath. There were wires coming in almost every direction that hooked up a to a monitor. A needle was in his arm while a tube was feeding him fluids. There was a horrible hum coming from the machines and one of them had an annoying beep. Natalie turned away and buried her head in her brother's chest and let out a muffled sob.

 _I'm on my knees_

 _only memories_

 _are left for me to hold_

 _Don't know how_

 _but I'll get by_

 _Slowly pull myself together_

Natalie slowly pulled herself away from her brother and made her way to the hospital bed. Flynn looked so small on the bed; he used to be big and strong. She reached out for his hand, waiting from him to squeeze hers in return. Gently, she made her way on to the bed and rested her head on his chest. His machine assisted heart beat against his chest. The woman's finger traced circles on the mans bare skin below his collarbone.

 _There's no escape_

 _So keep me safe_

 _This feels so unreal_

 _Nothing comes easily_

 _Fill this empty space_

 _Nothing is like it seems_

 _Turn my grief to grace_

 _"Are you ready?" Flynn's deep voice asked. Natalie's arms wrapped around him while she looked down to see the aqua blue water a hundred foot drop below them. Their ankles were strapped together._

 _"As I'll ever be." She looked up at his blue eyes. They were about to jump when Flynn took a step back. "You got to be kidding me." Natalie was annoyed._

 _"Natalie, I love you. I have known I loved you since the first time I saw you." Flynn took both of her hands in his. "I am ready to take the leap if you are. Marry Me."_

 _"Yes! Of course I will." Natalie wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately on the lips. They took a step to the edge and took the leap of the edge in each others arms._

 _I feel the cold_

 _Loneliness unfold_

 _Like from another world_

 _Come what may_

 _I won't fade away_

 _But I know I might change_

Natalie wiped her tears from her eyes as she remember every moment she had with her man. The adventures, the romantic nights, and even their yelling spats about the silly things. Natalie knew everything was going to be different. That if he woke up he would no longer be the same man that she fell in love with. This thought terrified more then jumping off a cliff. But at this moment all she wanted to do was hold him in her arms.

 _Nothing comes easily_

 _Fill this empty space_

 _Nothing is like it was_

 _Turn my grief to grace_

 _Nothing comes easily_

 _Where do I begin?_

 _Nothing can bring me peace_

 _I've lost everything_

 _I just want to feel your embrace_

Derek leaned again the door jam and watched her sister when he felt arms wrapped around his waist. "I've should have done better."

"You did what you could. " Meredith comforted him.

"Maybe. I don't know. I just feel like I let her down." Derek sighed. "I'm afraid she'll hate me know."

"She's not going to hate you." Meredith replied.

"She looks so different from the last time I saw her. I think it was three years ago. I knew of Flynn, but didn't think it would last." Derek voice was just over a whisper. "What I remember of Natalie that she was all over the place. Never making s decision. When did my baby sister grow up?"

"Probably when she fell in love." Grey answered. Derek turned around and kiss her on the lips. Just then, his pager went off. He looked down.

"I have to go. Keep an eye on her." Derek asked stealing one last kiss before he had to go

"Of course." She said as she watched him walk away.


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry it has been so long, life has been so crazy. But I haven't forgotten about you. This chapter is short. I hope you like it.

XXXX

"So…" Natalie sat on the edge of Flynn's bed with a hand holding on to his lifeless one. "…what are our options?" She asked her brother sitting in the chair beside the bed.

"The first option is to wait and see if wakes up. The second option is treat the injury with medicine to see if it will help bring the swelling down." Derek paused for a brief moment. "The third option is surgery. I will go in and reduce the swelling and mend the damage that was done."

"Will the surgery bring him back?" Natalie questioned as she looked down at her husband.

"There is no guarantee for a full recover with surgery." Derek rubbed the back of is neck. "We need to be prepared that Flynn will never be the same if he does walk up. But you need to make a decisions of how far you want us to go to bring him back."

Natalie stared at the man in the bed imagining a world without him in it and she slowly looked up at her brother. "What would you do?"

"I can't make this decision for you." Derek replied.

"I'm asking you as my brother." Natalie insisted. "If this was Madison…" She corrected herself." If this was Dr. Grey, what would you do?"

Derek leaned forward on his knees looking up at his sister. "I do whatever it takes to bring her back."

"Then do whatever it takes to bring back my Flynn." Natalie's feet found the ground as she faced her sitting brother.

"You do understand that if does wake up we can be looking at months of rehabilitation." Derek stood up to be eye level with his sister. "He may need to learn how to talk, read, write and even walk all over again. Are you prepared for that?"

"I know, Derek. Just do whatever it takes." Her voice was unsure as she spoke. Derek just pulled her into his embrace. Her head laid on his chest like she use to do when she was younger.

"It's late and you need some rest." Derek said as he stroked her head. "I will have someone bring in a cot and you can sleep next to him. Alright?" Natalie just nodded her head as she let go of her brother who left the room.

She made her way to the sink in the room, turned on the cold water and pulled a paper cup from the dispenser to fill her cup. The downed the first cup full and filled a second. Natalie then made her way to the chair beside the bed and sat down. Her gaze stayed on her husband. wondering what was going to happen. Part of her was scared for him to walk up. Worried that he wasn't going to be the man she fell in love with. The other part of her was dying for his strong arms to be wrapped around her. Only time could tell what would happen.

It wasn't long until Derek returned with a two orderlies that rolled in an extra bed. One of the men unlocked the side rail from Flynn's bed and the other rolled the bed right next to her husband's bed. Natalie made her way to the bed and under the covers.

"Can I see your arm?" Derek asked his sister.

"What are you going to do?" She saw the needle in his hand.

"It just something to help you sleep." Derek told her. She gave her arm to him as she injected the needle in her arm.

"Thank you. For everything." She said to her brother before she rolled over, holding on to Flynn's hand.

"You're welcome." Derek whispered as he made his way out of the room and watched from the doorway as his little sister fell into a much-needed sleep.

"Derek!" A familiar voice came from behind him. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Derek looked back at his old friend Mark Slone. "Same can't be said for her husband."

"Nat can't be married. She's just a kid." Mark looked into the room. He barely recognized the woman in the bed and noticed the young man in critical condition.

" I feel the same. It was just like yesterday when she was still running away from home and getting into trouble." Derek smirked. "It's hard to believe that she actually settled down with someone. Though he seems to make her happier then I've ever seen, besides this moment when he is slipping through her fingers." Derek' smile fade. "Now it is my job to come into an fix it. I just don't know how."

"Nat was like a little sister to me, Derek" Mark insisted patted him on the back. "I will help you in anyway I can."

"I think I'll just do down to the skill lab and try to figure it out." Derek said as he rubbed his eyes.

"When was they last time you slept." Mark noticed the bags under his friends eyes.

"Ah…" The neurosurgeon looked down at his watch. "About twenty hours ago."

"Go get some rest. I'll keep an eye on them. Then, when you are rested, you can figure out what you need to do." Mark insisted.

"You're right. I can't screw this one up."

"I will call if anything changes." Mark mentioned. "Now get our of here."

"Yeah, I'm going." Derek turned and walked away.


	7. Chapter Six

The sun was slowly peeking through the window when Natalie rolled over in the hospital bed as if she was snug in her own bed. Slowly she opened her eyes to look at her husband sleeping next to her. Horror returned when she realized where she was. The bed next to hers was empty. Natalie quickly jumped out of the bed. Her head was spinning as she wobbled to the exit out of the room. "DEREK." She yelled at the top of her lungs. "Derek" She called out again in a panic. She looked both ways, but couldn't recognize anyone she saw. The patient's hand rose above her head and plopped on her head as she pulled on her hair in frustration. Tears streamed down her face.

"Are you okay?" A nurse came up to Natalie to spoke in a calming voice.

"No. My husband he was here and now he's gone." Natalie rambled off quickly, not making eye contact with the nurse but keep searching for signs of her brother or Flynn. "I need to know where he is. Because he is my husband and if he isn't there, in a coma in that bed," She pointed to the bed in the room behind her. "I'm afraid that he is dead. And I…"The woman snivelled "…I can't do this."

"Natalie?"

The woman turned around to the voice she hasn't heard in years. A woman with short white hair was standing next to Mark, a man she also hasn't seen in years, who was carrying a travel bag. "Carolyn? What are you doing here?" Natalie spat.

"Nice to see you too." The woman step forward. "Mark called and I hopped on the first plane out of New York. I can't believe that my own children don't call me to tell me that you were in an accident, let alone in the country."

"You called her? How could you call her?' Natalie snarled at Mark. "It is none of your business to call her."

"Nat…"He was cut off.

"I don't have time for this." Her loud voice rang in the hall of the hospital. The nurse stood there speechless glancing at Christina Yang, who watched with amusement at the nurse's station. "I need to go find out if my husband is dead or not."

"You talk to me whatever why you want," the older woman stormed up to her daughter "but you leave Mark out of this. He only did what her thought was right."

"Get out of here." Natalie's voice was low before she belted out "GET OUT OF HERE NOW."

"What the hell is going on?" Derek came running up with Meredith close behind. "In there. Now." Derek demanded as he pointed towards Natalie's room. He grabbed Natalie by the arm and escorted her into the room, with his mother close behind. The neurosurgeons head popped out of the room "Mark. In here now." The man with the travel bag made his way to the room as Derek closed the blinds to the room.

Meredith walked over to where Christina was standing with a huge smile on her face, holding onto a plastic beg. "What the hell did I miss last night?"

"Nothing much. Just Derek's sister getting into a car accident with her newly wed husband, who is in a coma." Meredith said causally. "This here," Grey point to where everyone was once standing "I don't know what that was."

"Why do I always miss the good drama?" Yang said with a pout, before she lightly slapped her friend. "Why didn't you call me?

"I'm sorry, it's been a little crazy here and Derek is struggling to find a way to help her husband." She half hearted apologized as she picked up a chart.

"How about that? Derek has an another sister." Christina sighed looking toward the closed door. "His poor mother." She placed the bag in her hand on the counter.

"What is that?" Meredith glanced down at the bag in Christina's hand.

"Prescription Medication. Police dropped it of a few minutes ago; it was from the car accident last night." Yang said without a second thought. "Wait a second," She looked at Meredith when she realized who it belonged to "this is Derek's sister's." She quickly picked up the clear plastic bag and looked at the prescription."

"Or her husband." Meredith replies.

"Wow." Christina said with surprise.

"What? What is it?" Grey asked as she took the bag from her friend.

"Lithium and Lamotrigine. And you want to marry into this family. Good luck." Christina picked up a chart and walked away.

Meredith put down the bag on the counter and looked towards the door wanting to know what was going on behind the closed door.

XXXX

"I can't believe what I just saw out there. I am mortified. This is where I work and I can't have my family in a screaming match in the middle of the hospital." Derek ranted.

"She shouldn't be here. I don't want her…" Natalie spoke over top his word,

"No talking." He snapped at his sister. "Now we are going to sit down and talk like civilized people, but not right now. I don't have time to mediate whatever is going on right now. Mark, drive mom to my place so she can rest from her flight. It must have been a long night." No one said a word as Mark escorted Carolyn out of the room.

"Derek, where is Flynn? Tell me he's not dead. He can't dead. I don't know what to do? I can't live without him… and now she's. I just can't do it. " Natalie rambled on, her hand holding on to her head with her fingers digging into her scalp, some of her words were incoherent. She failed to make eye contact with her brother.

The doctor watched his sister who seemed to filling with an abundance of energy. More then she knew what do with. "Natalie." Derek said softly, he took her hands in to his own. "Breath." She did. "Now count backward from a thousand."

"A thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, nine hundred ninety-eight, nine hundred ninety seven…" As she counted, Derek noticed the energy level lower. "Nine hundred ninety six."

"Good. Natalie, look at me." His words were calming. She looked around the room but not at her brother. "Look at me." She finally made eye contact with her brother. "Good. Flynn is still alive; I brought him to get a CT scan so I can see what's happening. They are bringing him back up any minute now." Natalie sighed in relief. "Natalie, now I need to know when was the last time you had your medication?"

"I don't know. Flynn usually reminds me, but we just flew in and then accident. Everything it just a blur. I think it was yesterday but I don't know. Time doesn't make sense." Her energy started to elevate once more.

"Take a breath." Derek said slowly. "Are you still taking Lithium?" Natalie nodded her head. "Alright, I'll go find some for you. Just wait her for Flynn. Alright?" His sister didn't say anything. "Natalie are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." Natalie made her way to the chair, her legs started to bounce nervously as soon as she sat down.

"Good." Derek said as he left the room closing the door behind him. Looked up and saw his mom, Mark and Meredith standing by the nurses station.

Derek made his way to his mom and gave her a hug. "It's good to see you, mom. Even if it's not the greatest circumstance." He kissed her cheek. "You know she didn't mean what she said, it wasn't her speaking."

"Of course she did. I have endured much more from her during her good days." Carolyn spoke calmly. "Derek, you forget that I raised six children. I have developed a thick skin." She gently tapped his cheek. "Mark, are you ready?"

"Yes Mrs. Shepard." Mark replied, he offered his arm and they walked off.

Derek turned to Meredith "I think we should trade families. Just for a day." He smiled slightly and gave her a peck on the lips. Derek looked down and saw the beg of medication on the counter. "Is that hers?" Meredith just nodded her head. Derek picked up the bag and looked at the date the medication was prescribed. "Well, that explains a lot." The doctor sigh as he looked towards his sisters room.


	8. Chapter Seven

"When was the last time you took your meds?" Derek asked as soon as he walked into the hospital room seeing his sister pacing in the room.

"I took them before we boarded the plane." Natalie stated. "Derek, don't you believe me?" Her big brown eyes couldn't make eye contact with her brother's.

"The refill date on the bottle was over six months ago. It's more then half full." Derek stated.

"I just brought the the older bottle. My current one was too big to bring on the plane. Derek, I'm talking them. I really am." Natalie insisted.

"Then what just happened out there, with mom?" Derek asked, he watched his sister struggle to look at him as her hand rapidly slapped the side of her leg.

"I was just shocked to see her. I didn't expect to see her standing there next to Mark and one thing lead after another. I was just no prepared to face after the last time I saw her. You remember, Derek. You were there." Natalie rambled. "You know that we didn't leave on great terms." She finally made eye contact with her brother and saw his lingering stare of disappointment. "Don't at me like that. I didn't do anything wrong. You know that." There was no response from her brother. She started pacing the room in the silence. Derek could see her mind racing before she spoke up again.

"Where's Flynn? I want to see Flynn. I need to see Flynn. Is he dead? Please don't tell me his dead." Derek remained silent. "SAY SOMETHING." Natalie lashed out as she picked up the water jug that was sitting on the counter and threw it across the room. Her hand was instantly covered her mouth when she realized what she had done and young woman slumped down onto her knees and her head in her hands.

"Is everything alright?" A nurse quickly opened the door and peaked in.

"Yes." Derek replied, waving the woman away.

"I really thought I had everything under control." Natalie said softly. Derek made his way to the floor and pulled her in close like he use to when she was younger. "I don't know how I let it get this far. I was doing so good for years." She spoke through her sniffles.

"Tell me what happened." Derek asked in a soothing tone.

"I forgot to bring them along during one of our three day hikes. I didn't want to turn back to get them. I though that I haven't had an episode since…since I've been in New York. That was over seven years ago. I knew I could make it three days without them. I was right. I didn't feel like I was loosing control of my emotions. I was excited that I had a handle on it without being medicated. So I decided to see how the rest of the week would go. The weeks turned into months and there was no episode. I was so sure that it wasn't coming back. I was cured." Natalie body was shivering uncontrollably as she looked up at her brother. "That was until we were getting ready for this trip. I had a feeling in my pit, something I haven't felt in years. That's why I brought them. The pills. I wanted to be wrong about the feelings. But then we were in the taxi on the way here." She paused for a moment with a tear falling down her cheek. "It's my fault. The accident was all me fault. Flynn is going to die because of me. The taxi driver died because of me."

"I don't understand." Derek was confused.

"We were in the taxi and I screamed for him to stop when I saw skyline. I was so excited about. I was ready to jump out of the car to take a picture. He panicked at my manic yell and stepped on the brakes. Any sane person would of asked him to pull over no go crazy over a stupid skyline. Anyway that wen the tail of the car spun out and the semi, that was behind us, hit us on the side at full speed." Natalie looked at Derek to try to read his reaction. "It's all my fault, Derek. I don't want to go through it again. I can't. I messed everything up. I can't do this. I killed Flynn."

"Hey hey hey. Stop that. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't kill anyone okay. We will get through this just like last time. Okay?" Derek rocked his sister like a child. "Okay?" He repeated. Natalie nodded her head slowly. "I am here for you. I always will be."

The both looked up when the saw an orderly rolling in the gurney with Flynn still on it. Dr. Grey was pushing at the rear. Derek stood up and helped Natalie up. They parked the bed in its spot and put on the brakes. The nurse followed behind to make sure that all the machines were working. When the orderly and nurse left, Natalie immediately went by his side and held on to his hands.

Derek glanced at Meredith, who stood by the door, as he walked over to the sink. He filled the little paper cup with water and walked over to Natalie. The doctor handed her the cup then pulled out the lithium bottle out of his pocket. Natalie held out her hand as he poured one pill into her hand. She popped it in her mouth and chased it with the water.

"I'm going to call a therapist who specializes in mood disorders and get you an emergency appointment. I really think you need to talk to someone." Derek said softly to his sister as he stroked her back. "In the meantime, I think you should get some fresh air. Meredith has made time to go with you for a little while."

"Of course, you right." Natalie looked over at the doctor standing by the door, who gave her a warm smile. "I just need to use the washroom first."

"Of course." Derek said as he watched here going into the adjoining bathroom. The neurosurgeon made his way to the other doctor in the room "Just try to get her mind off everything, talk to her about her mission in Africa or about Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Meredith asked.

"The only series that she actually finished reading." Derek gave a little chuckle. "Just look after her. Please."

"Of course I will." Meredith smiled.

"Thank you!" Derek kissed Meredith on the lips when the door to the bathroom opened and Natalie saw the two doctors.

"You relationship makes more sense now." Natalie smirked.

"You two enjoy the fresh air." Derek said was a nervous laugh as he made his way to the door.

"Thank you, Derek. I don't know what I would do without you." Natalie gave him weak smile.

"That will never happen." Derek walked over to her and kissed her on the head.


End file.
